Changelog: 0.4.2 - Sanctuary in Time

Greetings, one and all!

October was hectic with the release of my new book, Traveler's Rede, and the promotional efforts surrounding it. (Please, check it out, if you're so inclined.) But I still found time to work on some pretty cool content for Sanctuary in Time as well. So, while it's not a huge update this month, I think it still packs a punch. 

We've got some upgrades to existing events, a few new side story events, a new coaching action, and an assortment of bugfixes and balancing updates as well. So, dig right in & let me know what you think once you've had a chance to play. Your feedback is always very much appreciated.

Above all else, have fun!

Max (Novus Operandi)

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Sanctuary in Time is a text-based, adult game with sci-fi & RPG elements! Your father's just been murdered. He was the God of Time. Now, it's your turn! Save damsels from dark corners of history; train them as warriors, courtesans, or workers. Build your forces. Expand & upgrade your citadel. And survive the enemies that seek your death!

Feature update: New coaching option to ‘provide moral support.’

This is a new weekly action available from the Coaching menu.

• You can now attempt to address a follower’s “need for moral support (general).” This option becomes available when their health or devotion is below a certain threshold.
• This action can be undertaken with any qualifying follower, regardless of whether or not they have a personality-based limitation you wish to address (e.g. combat, courtship, or caretaking).
• This new action is intended to let players bolster a follower’s health and/or devotion, when they may be struggling in their assignment for any reason whatsoever.

Side story updates: Changes & upgrades to ‘send backup’ events (for both combat & courtship duties).

These changes pertain to the two side story events in which a follower assigned to combat or courtship duties offworld has experienced difficulties in their assignment & is urgently requesting backup.

• Significant textual updates to most scenes. These scenes now include more detailed descriptions of the events taking place, and include multiple randomized elements for a greater sense of variety.
• Previously, if the player declined to send backup, there was a flat 75% chance the follower could still achieve victory without backup (though with different damage & reward amounts than a victory with backup). Now, however, the chances for a follower to achieve victory unaided are based on the same type of performance calculations used in their weekly assignments (which take into account multiple variables, such as health, devotion, relevant skill level, and bonuses from muscles/beauty & equipped outfit).
• Damage reduction amounts provided by the follower’s equipped outfit are now displayed as part of the SUMMARY of the event.
• The different levels of monetary rewards provided by different outcomes are now more clearly labeled as being ‘minor,’ ‘moderate,’ or ‘significant’ sums of silver in the SUMMARY.

New side story event: Follower asks for guidance before undertaking a difficult battle alone.

This is a new, recurring event in which a follower asks for your instructions before she takes on a difficult combat challenge alone. (Contains multiple procedural elements for a sense of variety.)

• See the odds for success, then instruct her to accept the challenge or walk away.
• Contains a higher-than-normal combat challenge, with different results & rewards depending on outcome.
• Event only requires & affects a single follower assigned offworld as a ‘Knight-errant’ or ‘Holy Paladin.’

New side story event: Follower asks for guidance before undertaking a difficult negotiation alone.

This is a new, recurring event in which a follower asks for your instructions before she takes on a difficult negotiation challenge alone. (Contains multiple procedural elements for a sense of variety.)

• See the odds for success, then instruct her to accept the challenge or walk away.
• Contains a higher-than-normal courtship challenge, with different results & rewards depending on outcome.
• Event only requires & affects a single follower assigned offworld as a ‘Courtesan’ or ‘Temple Priestess.’

New side story event: Follower shows distress & questions your reasons for making her less beautiful.

A brief, new repeatable event can now occur in which a follower shows signs of distress & questions your reasons if you decrease her facial beauty.

• Can only occur once per facial beauty decrease.
• Results in minor devotion decrease of follower.
• Only triggers in response to new facial beauty decreases (after the update), not those done prior.

Gameplay balancing:

• Lowered chances for weekly duty performance outcomes better than ‘average’ by 5%.
• Slightly increased chances for recruitment events to occur at end of weekly report.
• Increased the cost of outfit ‘white loincloth (w/ sash)’ so it matches the cost of other outfits with similar bonuses.
• Slightly increased number of turns that must pass between occurrences of a follower finding resources in the settlement (a new event added in 0.4.1).
• Slightly increased number of turns that must pass between occurrences of a follower asking for resource donations to a worthy cause. Also lowered the amount of devotion gained from moderate to minor if resources are donated.
• Adjusted damage amounts inflicted by various injuries: Minor injuries now subtract 10-30% damage from current stat level, while moderate injuries subtract 30-70%, and severe injuries subtract 70-90%.
• Slightly decreased the amount of time it takes to coach a follower past their limitations.
• Slightly increased the amount of Courtship experience gained by followers from sex-induced orgasms. So, Courtship skill will now level up slightly faster from these interactions.
• Increased performance penalty applied to followers working underneath a matron when that matron has a ‘poor’ performance week. Previously, the base penalty was -10%, but now it’s -20% (a value which can then be reduced by the matron’s skill level – so the more skilled she is the less her poor performance actually affects her subordinates).
• Adjusted the Devotion threshold at which an assigned Medic will stop performing their duties. It’s now more forgiving.
• Adjusted requirements for the side story event in which a follower suffers a random injury. Now, in order for this event to occur, at least 3 followers must be present in the settlement whose health & devotion are greater than or equal to the limits of resting.
• Made adjustments to the priority levels used for occurrences of side story events, as well as the minimum number of turns that must pass between occurrences of some events, so that those events which have not been occurring as often as they should (or at all) following recent updates will now have a better chance of being seen.

Misc. Updates:

• Increased width of Tattoo Shop selection windows to prevent tattoo titles from being cut off. These were inadvertently reduced in size by a previous update.
• Fixed a couple typos found in the 3rd main story event (the attack by Kinscar).
• Changed language surrounding mentions of outfit damage reductions. Now, instead of using terms like ‘health/devotion damage’, terms like ‘health/devotion loss’ will be used instead, so as to sound more organic & less ‘game-y.’
• Added a new line to the weekly turn report which describes a follower’s current health & devotion status (before any changes take place), so players can more easily discern when a health or devotion penalty might be impacting a follower’s performance.
• Updated sexual dialogues to replace the term ‘FOLLOWER’ in certain choice selections with the more personal term ‘HER’ instead. Example: ‘CLIMAX ON FOLLOWER STOMACH’ now reads as ‘CLIMAX ON HER STOMACH.’
• Updated the event in which a follower confesses her feelings for you & asks if you would like to court her. The main scene for this event now includes additional procedural elements for a greater sense of variety.
• Added more variety to weekly activities displayed for Courtesans in the weekly turn report.
• Updated recruitment events for unique followers ‘Jean d’Arc (Maid of Orléans)’ & ‘Margaretha Zelle (Mata Hari)’ so the starting value for their medical skill is in the ‘Beginner’ range, rather than ‘Student.’ Their primary skill remains as it was (with a starting value of ‘Student’). This only affects newly recruited versions of these followers, not pre-existing.
• Updated description of the ‘Nordic boar’ tattoo (‘Gullinbursti’) to include mention of an erect phallus jutting beneath its belly. (This fits the historical role of Freyr as a god of fertility & vitality.)
• Updated the requirements used for the side story event in which a follower can be consoled while feeling homesick. Recruits with Celestial blood will no longer qualify for this event, because their unique origins do not match with the story details mentioned in these scenes.
• Changed the color used for text in the weekly turn report that announces a Knight-errant or Courtesan “...is ready for more advanced assignments.” Previous color used was red, while new color is goldenrod, so the announcement seems less urgent.